


Under twelve parsecs

by DauntlessSubconscious



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Ben Solo gets a tumblr account, Crack Treated Seriously, Darth-Benjamin-1983, Do not attempt this at home, F/M, Prompt Fic, the author would like to apologize in advanced, wickedlywonderfulweekofreylo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 00:04:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7143938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DauntlessSubconscious/pseuds/DauntlessSubconscious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben Solo spends too much time in Tumblr, at least, according to Poe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under twelve parsecs

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there!  
> Part three of the Wickedly Wonderful Week of Reylo challenge.  
> Wednesday's prompt: unfollowed.
> 
> Rach, you wonderful person, thank you so much for fixing my messes !
> 
> In my defense, this was written while running a fever and being under the influence of meds for my cold. Hopefully, this won't be too weird/awful.
> 
> Feel free to let me know :)

“For the last time, Dameron, I will not have you arranging my love life.”

 

“...or lack thereof,” Poe mutters.

 

Ben groans, because they’ve had this conversation way too many times. He has always admired his friend’s determination, but right now, this is fast approaching uncharted levels of ridiculous and Ben is not going to change his mind about this, period.

 

“C’mon, dude… It wouldn’t even be a date, per se.”

 

Ben fixes his friend with a glare because that’s a lie and they both know it. Sure, he and the other poor soul Poe’s dragging into this wouldn’t be alone, but the intentionality behind the set-up is very real, and that equals ‘date’ in Ben’s thesaurus.

 

“Okay, maybe this isn’t a spontaneous thing, so what? It’s still preferable to the hours you spend brooding on Tumblr...” Poe starts, his hands making gestures way beyond his personal space, and before Ben can chime in, he continues. “And honestly, Ben, you need to limitate your thirst for epic romances to fiction. Not everything has to be grandiose narrative and love at first sight.”

 

His eyebrows shot up. That’s rich, coming from Poe, taking into account how he and Finn had met.

 

“I do not—” Ben huffs and rubs his eyes. It’s been a long day, all he wants to do is sit back and relax, but Poe seems to be in the mood for getting under his skin, so Ben changes tactics. “By those standards, the date you set with me and Phasma should’ve been great.”

 

Poe frowns, his face morphing into full incredulity. “Phasma is really cool! She’s into history, just like you, and she’s tall, so no height related-awkwardness.”

 

“She also likes girls.”

 

“And that’s something you two also have in common.”

 

This is pointless. They had clearly crossed the borders of sensical conversation, diving into nitpicking like a couple of three year olds. Ben hates to admit it, but this happens often, too often given that they both had already entered the third decade of their lives.

 

Ben scowls and Poe has a little satisfied smirk on his face, the product of having the last word, but…

 

“Didn’t you say Finn was waiting for you?” Ben asks and outright chuckles when Poe features decompose because he’s late and he’ll be in so much trouble.

 

Poe collects his keys and wallet in record time, he has seventy five percent of his jacket on and a foot already in the hallway but he pauses and points at Ben. “We’re not done, Solo.”

 

And with that, Ben finds himself free to dive into his couch and opens his blog while nursing a cold beer. His dashboard spreads through the screen of his laptop and he wanders aimlessly through the site after seeing he has no mentions nor asks. He’s ready to forego Tumblr in favor of checking his emails when a notification pops up and catches his attention.

 

_Under-twelve-parsecs is now following you._

 

His eyes narrow while regarding the username, he thinks he’s seen it before. He opens the link to it in a new tab and finds that it’s a history centric, with some slight touches of geekiness here and there; the icon is a picture of a weird looking spaceship soaring through a sea of stars and being chased by a couple of smaller ones. There’s a lot of answered asks in the first page and he starts to think that this could be a relatively popular blog; it doesn’t take him long to find out that it actually is, probably because the blogger has interesting opinions and a special talent for voicing—or writing—them. He idly wonders why a blog like this would follow his—he’s not exactly known out there and he gets a bit carried away when shares his points of view—it strikes him as odd, but all the same, he doesn’t hesitate and follows back.

 

As the days go by, he inadvertently spends more and more time on the site, and by the end of the week, he has read all twenty-seven pages of the blog. Poe’s words echo in his head mocking his lack of social life, surfacing every time he reblogs or likes a post; an extra voice in his consciousness he’d never asked for.

 

The next time his friend tries to cajole Ben into a blind date— _death traps, really_ —he brings his boyfriend along. Ben has to recognize it, that was a smart move, because Finn’s manipulation abilities surpass Poe’s with flying colors.

 

“So, Solo… are you going to decide?”

 

Ben stares at Finn, confusion reflected on his face, since seconds ago they were just chatting about trivialities. Maybe, he lost some part of it, because the bar is full of loud conversations, and his mind isn’t quite here...

 

“Sometime this century would be nice. My friend actually wants to meet you, y’know,” Finn says, and oh… Ben shakes his head, and a rueful smile threatens to curve his lips because there’s something convincing in his wording, so much so that Ben is inclined to believe him. However, in his experience, it’s always better to maintain a sliver of doubt. That usually works for the best.

 

“Really...” he muses, his voice tinged with incredulity, yet he can’t say his curiousness isn’t piqued, if even a little. But then, Ben frowns. “Did you just call me ‘Solo’?”

 

Finn sobers up a bit at that. “Sorry... Ben.” The man clears his throat and the awkwardness of the moment lingers when Poe refuses to act as a bridge between the two of them. “...But, uhm, yes, really. Poe told her some stuff about you.”

 

Ben scrunches his face, but he isn’t at all surprised. “‘Course he did.”

 

Poe finishes his beer without a care in the world and lifts his hand, gesturing the bartender to get his next one, completely ignoring Ben’s eyes shooting daggers at him.

 

There’s a new ask patiently sitting in his inbox when he gets home; or rather, he has just gotten his first ask ever. He’s grinning like a fool when he sees who wrote it.

 

_Under-twelve-parsecs asked:_

_Team IronMan or Team Cap? Elaborate ;)_

 

He hasn’t read the comics, he didn’t see the movie… Oh, well, Google would have to do. After a few minutes of searching and reading, Ben takes a deep breath and starts typing like a madman—never mind that he has to be up early tomorrow.

 

It becomes a habit, each night he knows he’ll find a new ask in his inbox, usually a geeky question and for those, he’s forced to reach for Wikipedia more often than not; yet sometimes, the ask would be about personal oddities, like what his favorite color is, or his best childhood memory. He enjoys those the most.

 

Unfortunately for him, this arrangement also means that he’s sleeping less and less and it shows, especially in the circles under his eyes and his bad mood. It’s not noon yet and he’s fighting against his heavy eyelids. Honestly, the surface of his wooden desk sounds more alluring and convenient than the softest of pillows right now; and the fact that this is the sixth time he’s reading this code—futilely trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with it—isn’t helpful at all. When Hux saunters into his office as if it were his own, Ben doesn’t have the required energy to match the ginger’s biting words.

 

“What?”

 

It’s not even a shadow of their usual routine of passive-aggressiveness, but he thinks he put enough contempt in it; it’ll have to do today.

 

“Are you done with the Starkiller code?”

 

“I’m on it, so if that’s all…” Ben gestures with his hand towards the door, his eyes never leaving the screen.

 

Hux huffs and before leaving the room, he has to comment. “You look like shit.”

 

For all the intellect Hux says he possesses, he always seems to state the obvious.

 

By the time his working day ends, he has found the glitches, but he’s not sure his brain will be able to function properly from now on. The ride home is little more than a blur and Poe’s texts have accumulated in his phone along with a couple of missed calls from his parents. He’s tired, exhausted really and the last thing he should be doing right now is turning on his laptop. He does exactly that, because he’s a capricious, obsessive creature and he needs to see if she-

 

His train of thought stills… How exactly did he know that Under-twelve-parsecs was a _she_? In reality, there hadn’t been any indication, at any point to confirm nor deny that…

 

Something akin to ice water rolls down his spine and his PC can’t start fast enough. He tries to convince himself that he’s certain that it’s a woman, it had always sounded like a woman; but perhaps he’s merely imagined the mysterious blogger as a woman. When he finally has his dashboard in front of him, the sight of four new chats makes him still for a moment. Ben opens them and it’s her—or maybe, it isn’t a _her_ , his brain provides—commenting on how much she—again, it might not be a _she_ —enjoyed his answer.

He types a _thank you_ with some uncertainty, and opens the blog in question, fully intending to get to the About Me section and put his doubts to rest.

 

The chat announces a new message.

 

_I got a confession to make._

 

He fleetingly thinks that this can’t be good, but tries for chill all the same.

 

_Shoot._

 

He gets back to the Under-twelve-parsecs tab and he forgets that he was meaning to read that _About Me_ in zero point two seconds. The first post is a picture; two men and a female are posing for the selfie, wide smiles on their faces and drinks in their hands. He reloads the page because he can’t believe it, but again, the same photo appears. He hears the chat beeping once more, but he’s way more preoccupied with Poe and Finn’s grins, both hugging the girl in between them. There’s a description under it and, of course, he’s been tagged in it.

 

_Hurry up, @Darth-Benjamin-1983, we’re waiting for you at the usual bar!_

 

Absentmindedly, he hits the like button. Ben is gaping like a fish out of the water, thinking how this redefines the concepts he had of ‘blindsided’ and ‘sucker punch’ while he reopens the chat.

 

_I’m Finn’s friend, Rey._

_Poe gave me your username since he said this would be the only way to get your attention._

 

_Clearly, Poe can’t be trusted._

_I’d be wary around him…_

 

_So… are you coming or is there more customary Tumblr bonding to be done?_

 

He’s already plotting how to get back at his friend for this, but he can’t help it, he smiles at her sass.

 

_I’ll be there in ten._

_Ohh, and fyi, I’m unfollowing you._

 

_No, you’re not…_

 

No, he isn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> Ben's username, Darth-Benjamin-1983 is taken from the [TFA Cinema Sins video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_zvQQ5P8w). If you haven't seen it, watch it, you won't regret it ;)


End file.
